U.S. Filmmaker Recorded Flotilla Massacre Video

(SALEM, Ore.) - The world is slowly absorbing the real magnitude of the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla to aid Gaza. A filmmaker as it turns out, was able to smuggle an hour of raw video back to the USA and two versions, a 15-minute edited video, and the full 60-minutes of raw video, are both published below.

Cultures of Resistance director Iara Lee was aboard the besieged Mavi Marmara and has since returned home safely.

I would consider her to be one of the bravest and most successful filmmaker/documentarians in the world. Nobody expected this, the amount of gunfire from Israel's military is unbelievable, horrifying.

According to Cultures of Resistance: "On the night of Sunday, May 30, showing a terrifying disregard for human life, Israeli naval forces surrounded and boarded ships sailing to bring humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip."

On the largest ship, the Mavi Marmara, Israeli commandos opened fire on civilian passengers, killing at least 9 passengers and wounding dozens more.

Others are still missing. In fact at least 17 people have just disappeared, gone off the radar... only Israel knows.

Despite the Israeli government's thorough efforts to confiscate all footage taken during the attack, Iara Lee was able to retain some of her recordings.

Try to imagine: Palestinians in Gaza live in an atmosphere that closely resembles the concentration camps of Europe. No, there are not gas chambers; that would never fly. Instead, Israel caged people in like animals and have slowly been killing them, razing their crops, bull dozing their villages and homes, in an overall attempt to destroy their actual will to live.

What Israel's seemingly cruel and unusual approach to the "Palestinian Problem" has actually managed to do, is grab the world's attention, and illustrate this lethal Israeli approach to halting a convoy for peace. It is not just or fair to remove human life this way, it all could have been avoided.

By that I do not mean the people in the Flotilla; they're doing the much needed work of God, or Allah, depending on your cultural reference for our creator; I mean only Israel.

The Flotilla was deemed the only possible response to the problem in Gaza, but no matter how nice or sincere these people were in their desire to help other human beings placed in jeopardy by Israel, the IDF 'commandos' set out to kill people aboard the ship, targeted by a assassin photo pamphlet the IDF soldier/sailors carried.

Another aspect of this is the testimony of former U.S. Marine Ken O'Keefe, a Gulf War Veteran. He relates how the Mavi Marmara crew had disarmed and captured three Israeli soldiers and how the soldiers looked at them as though they expected to be killed. They were not killed. That is the beginning and end of the ill motives of this ship's crew. Their friends were slaughtered in cold blood, unarmed, and when given the chance, did not kill in retaliation.

Many Israelis may not understand the notion of not retaliating, as it is extremely customary of Israel to wage heavy handed attacks over things like unguided rocket attacks from the elected but unrecognized political party and militant group Hamas.

In a standard western context, military or otherwise, attacking those who are unarmed is criminal and a show of extreme cowardice. There is not an exception to the rule.

Below is raw footage from the moments leading up to and during the Israeli commandos' assault on the Mavi Marmara.

Please visit, support and appreciate: culturesofresistance.org. Iara Lee heroically revealed something that Israel tried very hard to prevent.

This is the gut wrenching reality of what Israel is, and a very candid look at the people who were aboard the Mavi Marmara. They are shot, they are dying, and they are remarkably calm and collected for the circumstances. It is impossible to not respect people willing to die to help others.

The Freedom Flotilla for Gaza was never a threat to Israel - only hope for Israel's victims. Word is circulating that Israel will take the seized cement intended for Gaza from the confiscated ships, and use it to build more illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

It is the gunfire though, so much, and the knowledge that Israeli soldiers actually did have a 'hit list' and there is video of one, after it was removed from an Israeli soldier. It truly was a hit mission to murder people whose only goal was to assist the hungry and battered people of Gaza. There is not a possible excuse for it unless one believes that cold blooded murder is acceptable.

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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Robert Burnett July 3, 2010 9:01 pm (Pacific time)

The whole idea that the state of Isreal has any legitimacy in the world should be once and for all discounted. Israel has brought the world to its knees through systemic arrogance, cold hearted butchery with massacres documented without end, attacks on the so called allies such as the USS Liberty and now the Mavi Maramara, ignoring UN resolutions without eqaul and the non signatory to the Non Nuclear Proliferation treaty. The morons who continuously protect and support these cruel, vicious, arrogant and non democratic Israeli's are to be pitied for their brainwashed and puerile opinions which as we know are like assh*les....everyone's got one.

Doug P. July 3, 2010 9:21 am (Pacific time)

Most American supporters are of the Religious Righ/Christian Zionists.I attended a church that was pro-Israel to the max for 5 yrs,so I know how thier minds work

Anonymous June 23, 2010 2:40 am (Pacific time)

If each smart person can trick 10 brainwashed Americans into jumping off the nearest cliff, we'll get this all fixed in no time flat. Just tell them CNN and Fox News told them to jump.

Dave Kersting June 22, 2010 9:14 pm (Pacific time)

Amid all the spin-off arguments, don't forget the main point: An expressly 'Jewish' state forced into multi-ethnic Palestine is violent criminal RACISM - AS PLAIN AS IT CAN EVER GET. All other arguments are a waste of time if this main reality is blurred. Every act of violence, by all sides of this conflict, is simply the eternal, predictable, inevitable FACE OF THAT VIOLENT RACISM. There IS no viable argument. There is no difficulty in the solution: simply press the need to OBJECT to our own tax-financing for any and all policies of ethnic or religious PREJUDICE (or 'RACISM'), by anyone in the Israel-Palestine conflict. This is a moral imperative anyway. Yet the front line of opposition to this simple obvious way to peace has always been the Zionists IN 'the peace movement,' who shout obscenities in organizational meetings whenever anyone tries to apply STANDARD pro-equality, anti-racist arguments to Israel. That is why the MIS-'leaders' of 'the Peace Movement' have always refused to give Palestine its due priority and refused to allow the ordinary anti-racist approach to be applied to Israel: because doing so would 'DIVIDE THE MOVEMENT.' Yes, it would reduce head-counts at demonstrations - UNTIL ordinary citizens began to understand the genuine arguments, as they soon would. In reality, the 'peace movement' has been totally neutered by its Zionist 'members.' THAT is why there is no progress against the most flagrant campaign of official ethnic violence demanded by any significant portion of the US population since Southern slavery. Those who gain personally from Jewish advantage in Israel-Palestine have NATURALLY been quite organized and determined, while finding it all too easy to exploit the misplaced trust and compassion of the majority. AIPAC is merely the instrument used by a well-organized and actively donating 'Jewish Community.' There is no way to stop this perfectly natural ethnic-self interest if we are too timid even to identify WHO it is that's responsible. No politician or corporation can bring change if even the PEACE MOVEMENT is too timid to oppose OPEN RACISM when it is demanded by friends and fellow 'peace activists.'

edisonoside June 22, 2010 8:03 pm (Pacific time)

Gaza experiences the flotilla massacre daily if you can imagine that kind of oppression and horror..

dave June 22, 2010 2:12 pm (Pacific time)

So many americans are really brainwashed, just look at the comments and see.

Curious June 21, 2010 11:42 pm (Pacific time)

Have the Israeli's still got the flotilla ships, if so, when do they plan returning them?

skitalo June 19, 2010 9:27 am (Pacific time)

Yeah, right peaceful protesters, shooting with slingshots and with on-the-beat sticks in their hands...
Islam says 'kill the infidels', Christianity says: 'turn the other side'. You must be really dumb not to be able to work out which is the peaceful religion.

Editor: Do you know anything? Are you completely twisted in your thinking? Do you think the sky is red? Those kind people, giving of themselves to help the tortured Gazans, were attacked by a military with a Nazi like mentality. They were unarmed and completely in the right for trying to help human beings.

Lucifer's Taxi June 14, 2010 8:29 pm (Pacific time)

Take a good look! None of this would be happening, without the support of the United States for Israel. The Balfour Declaration,(British), created the state of Israel. (Thanks to the insistence of American Jews). History, is about to come back and BITE YOU!

Savage Military? June 13, 2010 9:04 pm (Pacific time)

The horror. The horror. Really. This is supposed to make the Israeli's look bad? FAIL.

Lucifer's Taxi June 14, 2010 8:28 pm (Pacific time)

yankhadenuf June 14, 2010 9:40 am (Pacific time)

The film tells the truth... peaceful prayerful people defending themselves in near silent total shock with crude objects they find around the ship that are usually used for something else, while they go through the motions of saving the dying and injured. What were the "clubs" exactly, they look more like broomsticks!

eddie zawaski June 14, 2010 8:00 am (Pacific time)

A note of caution to all who watch this video: view the entire thing with an open mind. There are portions of the tape, if viewed in isolation and out of context, that could confirm any pre-conceived notion that you might have, either pro-Israel or pro-Peace activist. This is raw footage and there is something here for everyone. By itself, it practically proves nothing. It should be taken up together with all the other films, audio recordings, and witness statements to get a true picture of what happened aboard the Mavi Marmara that night. Such a rendering of the facts will never happen as Israel has already destroyed and doctored most of the evidence for its anticipated whitewash of the events. In fact, Netanyahu had the hubris yesterday to announce that Israel's internal investigation would exonerate its military of any wrongdoing. Let me say that again in another way: Bibi said that the panel that I pick will look at the evidence that I give them and come to the conclusion I want. Pretty disgusting, huh? Sounds like what the Chicago PD does when they get caught roughing up a few innocent bystanders. This video and perhaps a bit more that may have been smuggled out past Israel guards is all the objective evidence anybody will ever see. I don't think it will change anyone's mind about what happened one way or the other as nearly everyone already has their ideas about what happened. Some people have criticized this video for not showing what actually happened on the upper deck where the killings took place. It is apparent, however, that the camera operator moved toward a stairway leading to that upper deck and stopped. He was either afraid or unable to get up there. I am sure that there are videos of of those events, but they have been destroyed by the Israelis. It is also possible that the people who took those videos and were direct witnesses to the killings are among the dead and missing.

JT June 14, 2010 1:13 am (Pacific time)

When commenting on rocket attacks, please do not forget that Israel violated the cease fire they had with Hamas, and they did it on the day of the US presidential election, when they thought/knew the world would be distracted. Hamas and Israel are both clearly in the wrong, but only one of those sides actually succeeds. Peace activists who are under attack by pirates in international waters will fight back. Peace activism does not extend to allowing illegal boarding of one's vessel. Israel confiscated all electronics on the ship and they have not been returned. Clearly, the word 'piracy' is 100% accurate. People have the right to defend against pirates. I don't understand how people can ignore the fact that this happened in international waters. People are so desperate to side with Israel that will ignore the law to get what they want. It's kind of scary.

Mihail June 14, 2010 12:55 am (Pacific time)

Benjamin H. Freedman, Jewish Historian - Researcher - Scholar. From "Common Sense", p. 2-1-53 and 5-1-59 "Christians have been duped by the unholiest hoax in all history, by so-called Jews. This is considered their most effective weapon." "This 'big lie' technique is brainwashing United States Christians into believing that Jesus Christ was "King of the Jews", in the sense that so-called 'Jews' today call themselves 'Jews'. This reference was first made in English translations of the Old and New Testaments, centuries before the so-called Jews highjacked the word 'Jew' in the 18th century A.D. to palm themselves off on the Christian world as having a kinship with Jesus Christ. This alleged kinship comes from the myth of their common ancestry with the so-called 'Jews' of the Holy Land in the Old Testament history, a fiction based on fable." "American Christians little suspect they are being brainwashed twenty-four hours of every day over television and radio, by newspapers and magazines, by motion pictures and plays, by books, by political leaders in office and seeking office, by religious leaders in their pulpits and outside their churches, by leaders in the field of education inside and outside their curricular activities, and by all leaders in business, professions and finance, whose economic security demands that they curry the favor of so-called "Jews" of historic Khazar ancestry. Unsuspecting Christians are subjected to this barrage from sources they have little reason to suspect. Incontestable facts supply the unchallengeable proof of the historic accuracy that so-called "Jews" throughout the world today of eastern European origin are unquestionably the historic descendants of the Khazars, a pagan Turko-Finn ancient Mongoloid nation deep in the heart of Asia, according to history, who battled their way in bloody wars about the 1st century B.C. into eastern Europe where they set up their Khazar kingdom. For some mysterious reason the history of the Khazar kingdom is conspicuous by its absence from history courses in the schools and colleges. "The historic existence of the Khazar kingdom of so-called "Jews", their rise and fall, the permanent disappearance of the Khazar kingdom as a nation from the map of Europe, and how King Bulan and the Khazar nation in about 740 A.D. became so-called "Jews" by conversion, were concealed from American Christians by censorship imposed by so-called "Jews", of historic Khazar ancestry, upon all U.S.A. media of mass communications directed by them. Then in 1945 this author gave nation-wide publicity to his many years intensive research into the "facts of life" concerning Khazars. The disclosures were sensational and very effective but apparently angered so-called "Jews" who have continued to vent their spleen upon this author since then solely for that reason. Since 1946 they have conducted a vicious smear campaign against him, seeking thus to further conceal these facts, for obvious reasons. What have they to fear from the truth? "In an original 1903 edition of the Jewish Encyclopedia in New York's Public Library, and in the Library of Congress, Volume IV, pages 1 to 5 inclusive, appears a most comprehensive history of the Khazars. Also in the New York Public Library are 327 books by the world's greatest historians and other sources of reference, in addition to the Jewish Encyclopedia, dealing with Khazar history, and written between the 3rd A.D. and 20th centuries by contemporaries of the Khazars and by modern historians on that subject."

Rick June 13, 2010 10:15 am (Pacific time)

I was wondering why you didn't publish my comments, but then I checked out Tim King and discovered he is a 9/11 truther and is full of conspiracy theories about the US and Israel. You people are a bunch of nut jobs. I wish u the best, the very best, as you deserve....

Tim King: We had a few hours lapse between approving comments, which are all done by living people Rick. But since you found it worth your time to be an insulting dipwad, you're right, you can split back to square city, you're obviously somebody who approves of Israel's systematic elimination of the Palestinians, also you must not believe in science or math, but prefer Bushisms instead; the choice of mental midgets.

walt kovacs June 13, 2010 7:43 pm (Pacific time)

mr king, did you really watch the entire vid?

did you miss the part where the norweigan passenger points out that the "blood" is paint?

did you notice that the vid was taken from a lower deck, so while you see the helicopters and the commados decending, you never see what happens after that.

did you notice the peace activists throwing items at the zodiac?

notice them carrying clubs and metal bars?

notice them firing sling shots?
and unless jos is a weapons expert, you hear no such thing at 4 minutes...you hear paintball guns going off

and yes, the idf did have intel on who was on those ships...that is their job

the vid proves the idf's story

it proves that everyone on those ships lied

this was not a humanitarian mission

another epic fail by the israel haters crowd

Tim King: Walt, there is nothing to convince you of; you stand alone in these parts. And you're such a liar too, but then what else could you do? Israel in your book has a right to operate as pirates. I don't even understand why you bother, people aren't stupid. So what if it is paint, do you think the bullets are fake also? You have great heightened abilities at seeing things in a way they are not, you are OK with Israel's systematic eliminatin of Palestinians and I am not, because I am a human being who cares about other human beings, not just those of a particular religion. Israel is a racist apartheid state founded on a plan that included genocide. Knowing what the German populace allowed to take place in the 30's, I am not surprised that people like you are able to support Israel. How do you manage to ignore the facts though? Do you condition yourself for it? Is there an audio cassette of Zionist propaganda that people pop into their car stereos? I'm just curious. Like I said, just look at the Third Reich if you want to know what this type of abstract thinking leads to. You truly are full of it, one big bag of Arab hating pro-genicode hot air.

David R. June 13, 2010 7:39 pm (Pacific time)

Somehow, the "democratically-elected" Hamas refuses to relinquish power, punishes those who speak out against it and still calls for the murder of Jews. Very democratic.

Editor: David, what grade did you reach in school? Did the program include world history? I could draw an analogy for you, but you're a pro genocide nutcase and probably have trouble remembering your address.

andrea sharp June 13, 2010 4:52 pm (Pacific time)

Just wanted to point out that she didn't "smuggle" anything.

Tim King: I absolutely did not mean to imply anything negative with that term and I amended the title and deleted the word. Thanks.

WHY June 13, 2010 11:02 am (Pacific time)

Good for her it's sad that something like this had to happen but good that the whole world can see how savage their military really is and call them out on their lies.

Jos June 13, 2010 10:06 am (Pacific time)

at 4min 39sec of the 15 min. video you can hear a sub machine gun being fired in three burst's

Jonathan June 13, 2010 7:38 am (Pacific time)

Really? I don't remember Jews in concentration camp lobbing missles into Germany, nor did they receive thousands of tons of food every week. And billions in world financing. Your bias is showing.

Editor: Every time those folks manage to shoot one of their mostly harmless unguided rockets, Israel makes headlines that last for three days, then they kill several hundred in reprise. I think it is a rare occurrence these days for any rockets to be fired. Tons of food? Damned liars. Too bad the people of Gaza always have such lies spewed about them, but anyone with minimal Internet skill can view hundreds in articles and images that tell the real story. By the way propaganda man, do you beat your dog?

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U.S. Filmmaker Recorded Flotilla Massacre Video

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